MELBEAUPOP - Melolontha Beauveria Population structure

Hermann Strasser

MELBEAUPOP - (acronym for Melolontha Beauveria Population structure) is a joint project of the Agroscope Reckenholz, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL and University Innsbruck to monitor and characterise the natural entomopathogenic antagonist B. brongniartii in cockchafer infested areas in East-, North- and South Tyrol and Switzerland.

Agoscope, WSL and University Innsbruck will investigate the prevalence, ecology and population structure of Melolontha melolontha as well as the co-existing Beauveria brongniartii species complex populations [with or without (natural) previous B. brongniartii BCA application] in selected Alpine regions in Austria, North Italy and Switzerland. This will allow assessment of the suitability of available Beauveria production strains as sustainable population control agents for the Melolontha species in different habitats and regions. Melolontha as well as B. brongniartii populations will be sampled and genetically analyzed using double-digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq).

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